Black Woman Developer Raises $310M To Fund Affordable Housing Projects In Male-Dominated Industry

Affordable housing developer offers tips to help other Black women entrepreneurs gain financing.

Gina Merritt, a Black woman affordable housing developer, is simultaneously disrupting a massive industry and raising immense funding.

The actions are groundbreaking for the principal of Northern Real Estate Urban Ventures (NREUV). Consider that two years ago, Merritt was reportedly among less than 5% of real estate developers who were people of color. Now, she’s thriving in the multibillion-dollar affordable housing market.

A former single mother who grew up in affordable housing in the Bronx, battling to be recognized as an expert in her field. The first 20 years of her career were spent building projects for white enterprises because she could not secure funding to do her own projects.

But the landscape changed dramatically for Merritt and her community development firm after George Floyd’s murder. She told BLACK ENTERPRISE that since 2021, her business has raised $310M for projects, including $124M this year. She aims to secure $114M for 2025.

After Floyd’s death, a breakthrough occurred, with banks, government agencies, and community development financial institutions willing to gamble on Merritt. This was atypical, as she often could not arrange financing with banks and other lenders before.

Currently, NREUV has 17 buildings in the pipeline in Ohio, Maryland, and Washington, D.C, totaling 1,200 affordable housing units. They come with workforce development, healthcare, and other amenities in cities like Baltimore, Cleveland, and Capital Heights, Maryland.

The firm’s niche is working with communities to pinpoint their needs and then blending them into its projects. According to Inc., the company was No. 730 on this year’s list of the fastest-growing private companies in America. The news outlet reported that the Washington, D.C.-based NREUV had a three-year revenue growth rate of 659%.

Interestingly, Merritt’s firm has steadily grown in an industry mostly dominated by white males while avoiding the recent DEI backlash that has deterred many businesses of color. Among its largest challenges in that climate is gaining needed working capital to support its growth and longevity.

Merritt shared how she approaches DEI: “For people of color, we must be good at what we do and be 10 times better -– so we need to show up with those data points and be able to defend our position in the market. She stressed that understanding competition is critical -– “especially if they don’t look like you and completely understand what makes you better at it.”

Even without DEI, she declares her firm knows of opportunities in which it will excel. “We do very complex multi-layered financing real estate transactions. We understand financial structuring so well that we can continue attracting capital to our business.”

Launched in 2002, NREUV reports annual revenue exceeding $6.6 million. Consulting on $180M worth of other projects, Merritt has built a $470M portfolio for her projects.

They include Mary’s House for Older Adults in Washington, D.C. Merritt says it is the nation’s first communal housing providing a safe and affordable housing environment for adults aged 62 and older, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and same-gender-loving individuals.

Another is 9410 Hough in Cleveland, a $47M redevelopment of a vacant 116-unit housing tower that will cater to households earning 60% of the area’s median income. Projected to open in January 2026, it will feature a community amenity center with employment and entrepreneurial services along with education, training, and healthcare among its offerings.

Merritt also says two new projects will open in 2027 in Prince George’s County, Maryland, and offer affordable housing units for youth transitioning out of foster care.

Yet, the journey has come with obstacles. Merritt says the largest challenge today is raising money for WFL Collective, her company’s economic empowerment platform. She hopes to raise $2 million for the effort in 2025. “We need philanthropy to recognize our innovative work even though the platform is less than three years old.”

Looking ahead, she says her firm’s future growth strategy is to have $1 billion in assets under management by 2034. Along those lines, Merritt teamed with a prior business partner this past May to launch NREUV Contracting and Mechanical. It furnishes and installs HVAC systems for construction projects. “The company has secured nearly $8M in contracts in the first year.”

Given her success, Merritt offered tips Black women entrepreneurs may do well to consider while trying to obtain financing to start or grow their businesses:

“Entrepreneurs should have a clean set of books and records. Even if you use QuickBooks, have a CPA review and provide advice to ensure your books show your best possible financial picture.”

“Business owners should have a corporate capability statement demonstrating their company’s history, senior leadership capacity, and overall experience. Demonstrate that you and your leadership team have the experience to continue to grow your organization.”

“Understand your superpower and lean into it. Investors are investing in you as the entrepreneur, and they need to know that you are exceptional at something and that something will drive your organization to success.”

Learn more about Merritt and her business here.